Nine Days Lost
by HABanime
Summary: Alfred and Matthew are swept away and lost in the depths of the jungle.  With their supplies dwindling and death looming closer with each passing day, can they survive together or will fear tear them apart?
1. It Begins

**Author's Notes: I realize I have other stories to finish, but this one...I've been wanting to do this for a LONG time.**

**xxx**

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><p>The floorboards of the ancient bridge creaked as Alfred tread upon them, confidently marching across without a second glance.<p>

His brother, on the other hand, examined the worn ropes and timber warily, lightly testing their strength before proceeding forward.

"C'mon Mattie, you're taking forever!" The American whined, idly rocking on his heels.

The other man sighed, rolling his eyes. It was truly hard to believe that his twin was the older one, even if only by a few minutes.

"Well unlike _some _people," Matthew threw a pointed stare at Alfred, "I don't want to fall to my death. This bridge _has_ to be at least a century old."

"Pff, don't be a total idiot dude. This thing's lasted so far!" As if to prove his point, he swung his weight to the side, eliciting a loud groan from the bridge. The Canadian let out a high pitched squeak as he clutched the ropes in terror.

He took a second to compose himself before turning red in indignation.

"What the hell Alfred!"

In response, the American smirked and jumped to the edge again, swinging the aged bridge back and forth. Matthew screamed again, desperately trying to keep his bearings as the ropes twisted and the boards creaked dangerously.

"A-alfred!" _Oh God oh God oh God_ "S-stop it! I-"

The bridge swung again, and this time Matthew lost his balance and fell backwards, hitting the ropes and slipping beneath them. His stomach dropped when he felt nothing but wind against his back.

With a loud _crack_, his ankle caught between the floorboards, twisting painfully. Matthew screamed in pain, both thankful and terrified that he was alive, dangling by his trapped foot fifty feet above the surging river.

"ALFRED!" He shrieked as he desperately tried to pull himself up, only succeeding in cracking the boards further.

"Oh shit Mattie! Fuck fuck _FUCK! _ I'm so sorry bro I-I was just kidding-!" Alfred ran to his fallen brother and grabbed his leg in an attempt to pull him back to safety.

"A-ah! Stop-!" The Canadian froze as a loud groan broke through their panicked shouting. The brothers' eyes locked for a moment before the bridge gave a final, sickening _crack_ and splintered to pieces, sending them tumbling into the rapids below.

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><p><strong>xxx<strong>

**Author's Notes: Short but sweet. Just wanted to punch this out before I exploded.**

**I HAVE A CONCUSSION**

**HAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAA**

**but seriously I have a concussion so if I don't make coherent sense that's okay.**

**xxx**

**So this story will be filled with lots of gut wrenching bits, so if you're of the faint of heart, I apologize. :)**


	2. One Day Lost: Log

Log: July 9th 2011: 9:21 PM

One Day Lost

This is the log of a man who is trapped in a rainforest with his brother, neither knowing where they are or how to get out.

Let me explain how I came to be in this situation.

My brother and I, we were on our way to an indigenous village out in the jungle, somewhere in Brazil. There aren't any maps that show where it is, so we followed some local directions.

We both work at a research facility outside of the rainforest, studying rare animals that live exclusively here. There was an opportunity for us to examine several species while living at the village I already mentioned.

So my brother and I packed for this trip, so excited to finally get out and do some real research work.

So excited were we that we didn't bring much survival gear.

I mean, I understand why. You don't really think about falling off a decrepit bridge into the heart of the jungle when you're excited.

All we had were the things that we regularly kept in our backpacks for hiking, plus Al's Swiss army knife.

This proved to be a very big problem, because now we're very much lost, and we don't have enough supplies to last for long.

My leg hurts…and it's not going to get better…

I know I should keep hope, I know I should be optimistic, but I just can't. There's this lump of dark thoughts in my stomach and it _hurts_ so much. I don't want to explore it for fear of what I will find, so I let it fester inside of me.

I know Alfred is an endless source of sunshine, of life, of happiness, but I am not.

I am imperfect.

And I am scared.

…

Twins.

It's ironic, really.

We are not as similar as we may seem.

...

I don't want to waste all of the battery on this, so this is goodbye, at least until I return.

Whoever I may be talking to.

-Matthew Williams


	3. Swept Away

**Matthew's POV**

My stomach flips as I tumble through the air, the forest around me a blur of greens and browns. I hit the water face-first, flesh slapping the water and I feel my body crack, I don't know where _but it cracks_ and the rapids are sweeping my down the river and I'm sinking-

Using the last of my energy, I surge upwards and break the surface, taking in gasping breaths of _air, glorious AIR_ before I am pulled into the murky depths of the river once again. My body whirls with the current, twisting and writhing until I don't have the faintest idea which way is up.

For the briefest of moments, I see Alfred's face, barely above the water. His mouth is open in a scream, and it takes me a moment to realize that it is my name that falls from his lips. I try to reply, but my lungs are filled with water, as I am not a strong swimmer. Desperate, I flail my arms wildly to catch his attention, the action pushing me below the surface again. Though it stings and burns like fire, I open my eyes. A large boulder rushes up to meet me, and I feel nothing but pain for a split second before my world goes black.

x-x-x-x

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><p>x-x-x-x<p>

**Alfred's POV**

"Matthew! MATTHEW!" I scream until there is no breath, my lungs already exhausted from the strain of fighting to keep my body afloat. I see his arms above the surface for only a moment, but it's all I need. Swimming against the current that surges and swells around me, I struggle towards him, reaching my arms as far as they can go to perhaps-

The river pulls me under and he is lost to me. I clutch my glasses desperately (I'm blind without them) as I'm swept downstream. We surface again, Matthew and I, and I reach out again.

There's _blood_ oh God _blood_ on him and he _isn't moving._

My legs are numb and unresponsive, despite the command, MOVE screeching in my head. He slips into the depths again and I dive for him, swallowing water as I go. Blindly feeling around for Matthew, mind on autopilot, I grasp his chest and pull him to the top, to air, to _life_. Again, I struggle out of the current, towing the still body of my brother behind me. Gasping and choking for air, I limply tug at Matthew's arm on the bank of the river. He's not out completely, but I can't pull him any further.

"Mattie…" I breathe, voice gravelly and hoarse. My muscles tighten as I try to shake him awake, stiffening to the point where they go numb. Though the river rages beside us, I can hear his gentle, steady breathing. Content that Matthew is out of danger, I close my eyes and let exhaustion take over.

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><p><strong>x-x-x-x<strong>

**Author's Notes: Sorry this is so short, I just wanted to update.**

**Heads up, POVs will be changing a lot in this story :B**

**(i feel like they're ooc TT-TT )**


	4. End

**Author's Notes: Hi there! I'm sorry to say that I will not be able to finish the story in the manner that I wanted to. I've been putting off my stories for a while now, and I don't feel like it's right to keep my readers in the dark.**

**So below is more or less what would have happened, along with a couple of bits that I wrote out beforehand.**

**My apologies, I hope what I have here will quell any curiosity at how things would've turned out!**

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><p>Matthew and Alfred travel through the forest. Using their waterlogged supplies to the best of their ability to lead them back to civilization, they travel through the jungle. As the days wear on, however, it's clear that they have no idea where they are. After a failed attempt at using a compass and their map to help them, they entertain the idea of going back to the bridge, in case someone would notice they were missing and come after them.<p>

(matthew's pov)

Panting heavily, I rest my hands on my knees. My vision blurs a little, shifting in front of me as if the world was painted on the back of a snake. Alfred bites his lip, eyebrows furrowing in a way that alerts me that he's thinking. I suppose I would have found this funny a few days ago, but it's hard to laugh when I feel as if I might heave any moment.

"Mattie...this trip was supposed to be two weeks right?" I nod, his words soft and fuzzy, as if my ears were stuffed with cotton. "And it's only been three days, so Iggy won't suspect we're missing until...a week and a half..."

The horrifying realization that _we will die here_ sinks in, settling in the very pit of my stomach, pulling me to the ground where I scream and cry until my lungs burn for air, though no one will ever hear me, trapped in this godforsaken jungle that drags me through hell and back; leaving me shattered and broken, bleeding and dying. It will end with a jaguar at my throat, a fallen tree upon my legs, or at the bottom of a river, air torn from my lungs and there is nothing I can do to escape. Tears stream from my eyes, staining my glasses and blurring my vision. The muddled greenery around me spins and twists like the terrified churning of my stomach. Barely conscious, I utter my brother's name through my inner torment, and the world goes blissfully black.

(end pov)

After Matthew recovers from his panic attack, the two continue on, hoping on finding someone boating in the river, or perhaps to find high ground to figure out where they are. As night approaches, the two decide to make camp. However, after the sun sets, the jungle comes alive. Alfred falls asleep, but Matthew is unable to. In the dark of the night, a deep growl emerges. Terrified, Matthew almost screams, but Alfred is awake and silences him. A pair of glowing eyes appear several feet away, and the creature reveals itself as a leopard.

(matthew's pov)

Fear wells in my throat, choking out my screams before they erupt and rip apart my fragile sanity. A lump of sheer terror forms in the pit of my stomach and I want to retch as my gut flips. Closing my eyes, I take deep, even breaths, trying to slow the frantic beating of my heart.

(end pov)

The leopard departs, leaving the brothers wide-eyed and terrified. The next morning, they run out of food and fresh water, but neither know the jungle well enough to try to eat anything they find. The midday heat nearly overcomes Matthew, but Alfred forces him to continue on. Big, dark clouds move in, and soon they are in the middle of a raging storm. There is no cover, and soon large chunks of dead trees are freed from their suspended tombs and fall to the ground, crushing all beneath them. The brothers clutch each other underneath a large tree, avoiding chunks of falling branches.

As the storm dissipates and all that remains is a light rain that soaks them both to the bone. Matthew, tired and hopeless, begins to cry. Alfred, unable to console him through words, impulsively kisses him.

(alfred's pov)

His lips taste like fear and anxiety, tainting the beautiful life in him with empty black nothingness, threatening to consume the tattered shreds of humanity that he desperately clings to. I hold his body as close as possible against mine, as if I could shield him from everything that makes him quiver and cry and scream, as if I could eliminate everything but us in each other's arms. Our mouths move together, joined by fear and unsaid confessions, loosening the ever-present terror that constricts my heart and chokes my lungs. The kiss chases away the grim truth that I refuse to accept, that I fight to prove wrong.

(end pov)

As the rain slows to a stop, the brothers fall asleep together, exhausted and worn out. The day wears on, and by late afternoon the brothers are awake again. They are tired, hungry, and thirsty, but unable to eat or drink due to their unfamiliarity with the jungle, and the dirty water that stagnates in puddles around them. They squeeze the water from their shirts, but that barely wets their tongues.

They continue on, in search of something that will help them

x-x-x-x

Nine days have passed.

Matthew and Alfred have lost their strength, and hunger gnaws at their stomachs. Without his depression medication, Matthew loses hope and falls to the ground.

(matthew's pov)

I cannot go on. The trees call to me to lay down and give up my sorry life, for my death will bring him life. Without my weak, tainted mind holding him back, dragging him to the dirt, he will rise up and escape from this jungle. My life is nothing, his life is everything.

(end pov)

Alfred, upset by Matthew's disregard for his own life, proposes an option. If, by sunset, they have not been rescued, they will kill themselves. He pulls out his hunting knife, shows his brother, then returns it to his pack. If they are to die, they will die by their own hands.

Willing to go along with Alfred's idea, he stands up and they continue walking.

(Here the story splits into three parts. Each part is a different ending that could have occurred)

Ending 1) As the brothers walk through the jungle, Matthew feels a burning sensation in his hand. He holds it up and a spider jumps off his fingers, leaving a small smear of blood on his hand.

Matthew screams and wracks his mind for how to stop the poison from flowing through his body. But before he can implement one of them, Alfred runs over and grabs his hand. He immediately works to suck the poison out. Matthew is relieved for a moment, but then the realization dawns on him. Matthew kicks him and yells for him to stop, that the poison will be re-absorbed through his mouth, that it won't work and he'll _die_. But Alfred only smiles and nods.

He knows.

Matthew, too weak to stop Alfred, relaxes. Tears stream down his face as he watches his brother work. Once Alfred is satisfied, he wraps Matthew's hand in a bandage.

They lie together, even as Alfred's breathing becomes more and more labored. Even as the life drains out of him, they stay together.

Night falls.

Morning dawns.

Matthew, sobbing and unable to think clearly, drags himself away from the cold body and lies next to the river, waiting for death.

x-x-x

(matthew's pov)

Time has no meaning anymore.

I lie at the edge of the water, my thoughts blurry and clouded.

A faint buzzing circles around my head, and I idly swat at it. Damn bugs.

But the noise doesn't stop.

It gets louder and louder, the buzzing morphing into a dull roar.

I open my eyes, dried tears cracking as I do so.

The world is too bright for a moment, but as my eyes grow accustomed to the light, I see it.

A boat.

A _boat._

I nearly scream. I try to stand, but my legs buckle beneath me. My voice is scratchy and hoarse, but I manage a wordless shout.

It is unheard over the motor of the boat.

I pull myself up and I can feel blood running down my throat as I scream again, loud and foreign to my ears.

The men in the boat turn their heads and I see Arthur oh thank god **Arthur**.

The boat putters over to me and as soon as it's within range I fall and thankfully Arthur is there to catch me. I lose consciousness, and for a while, everything is blissfully black.

I awaken perhaps minutes, perhaps hours later. We are still in the boat. By habit, I look for Alfred, but then the realization that he's still in the jungle hits me and I almost jump from the boat. I look back at the jungle's tangled roots and vines and trees and I begin to cry, hot tears streaming down my face as the reality of my loss tears my heart out, leaving nothing but a hollow, empty shell.

I cry because nothing will ever be the same.

I cry for the shattered remnants of my sanity.

I cry for my brother.

I am met with nothing but silence.

x-x-x-x-x

x-x-x-x-x

Ending 2) The forest is silent as the brothers weakly walk uphill, sweat running down their tired, gaunt faces. Their glasses are cracked, Matthew missing a lens in his.

But before they know it, they stand at the crest of a small mountain, a cliff dropping sharply before them.

Matthew briefly entertains the idea of jumping.

But as soon as he looks over at Alfred, he knows that is not an option.

For Alfred is smiling.

No, _grinning_.

He turns to Matthew and pulls out his hunting knife, and for a second, Matthew is terrified. But he merely cuts a few dead branches from the trees behind them and makes a small pile. He motions for his brother to help him, and soon they have a large pile of dry, dead brush.

Alfred pulls out his lighter and a can of bug spray. He sprays the pile, then lights it on fire.

It goes up in flames in an instant. Soon the hungry flames lick up the side of a nearby tree, setting it alight. Within minutes, a few trees are burning enthusiastically, dark smoke rising from the heart of the flames.

"Anyone will see this for miles. All we have to do is wait."

x-x-x-x

Alfred is right.

As the sun begins to set, a helicopter flies overhead, the thrum of its engine like the rapid beating of their hearts.

They scream and wave their arms and flash their knife to attract attention, and soon the helicopter flies low to the ground, offering a rope ladder for them.

The brothers all but abandon their packs, running faster than they knew they can to the helicopter, pulling their weakened bodies up the ladder and into the body of the aircraft.

Though questions are thrown their way, they answer none. The twins lie on the floor, holding each other and sobbing.

Eventually, they calm down enough to sit up and talk to their saviors. But their hands remain together through the remainder of the trip, and even a few hours afterwards.

x-x-x-x-x

x-x-x-x-x

Ending 3) Legs burning from their trek, the two rest for a moment. They have met nothing but trees, vines, and an unfriendly looking monkey that screeched as they approached it. Alfred looks to the sky, the sun nearing the edge of the earth.

Within minutes, the sky is nothing but dark blue chasing away the last remnants of red.

Knowing exactly what is to come, the brothers stop walking and sit down.

Alfred pulls out his hunting knife.

"I'm going to go first. Then take the knife from me, and...just..." The sentence hung in the air like a death sentence as Alfred held the weapon shakily in his hand.

Matthew gently takes his other hand in his own.

Alfred smiles, a nostalgic looks passing over his face before he runs the knife across his throat.

Matthew moves as quickly as possible to repeat the action on himself.

The two fall back together, looking in each other's eyes as they watch the life fade from the other.

Eyes flutter shut, and the two are still.

x-x-x-x-x

x-x-x-x-x

x-x-x-x-x

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: Aaah I'm so sorry that I couldn't finish this story in a nicer manner, but I haven't worked on this for so long, I don't think I ever would have.<strong>

**Yeah the endings are pretty sad...I was going to have a tough time choosing one if I had to!**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the story, however sad it may be.**


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